ACCOUNTABILITY AND PARTY COMPETITION
IN SLOVAKIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate School
of the University of Notre Dame
In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Kevin Deegan Krause

A. James McAdams, Director
Department of Government
Notre Dame, Indiana
April 2000

TABLE OF CONTENTS, LIST OF TABLES AND PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE
THE UNEXPECTED PUZZLE

The missing links
Organization of the argument

SECTION I: The Problem of Accountability

CHAPTER TWO
DEFINING ACCOUNTABILITY

The importance of restraint
The elements of restraint
Identifying violations of horizontal accountability

CHAPTER THREE
THE DISMANTLING OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN SLOVAKIA

Smoke but no fire: 1992 to 1994
Barriers breached: November 1994 and its consequences
Attacks on independents: 1995 through 1998
On the defensive: 1995 through 1998
Vertical accountability under threat: 1997 and 1998
Restoration: 1998 and thereafter

CHAPTER FOUR
THE PERSISTENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY IN CZECH REPUBLIC

Misdemeanor and Punishment: 1992 to 1997
Oversight deferred: 1992 to 1997
Mixed signals: 1998 and thereafter
Horizontal accountability in comparative perspective
 

SECTION II: The Institutional Basis of Accountability

CHAPTER FIVE
INSTITUTIONAL EXPLANATIONS THAT DO NOT WORK

The role of institutional design
The role of state institutions
The role of non-government institutions
The role of international institutions
The consequences for accountability

CHAPTER SIX
PARTY EXPLANATIONS THAT DO NOT WORK

The role of parties
Characteristics of parties
Polarization
Volatility
Roots in Society
Consequences for Accountability

CHAPTER SEVEN
PARTY EXPLANATIONS THAT WORK

Party organization
Party decision-making
Electoral incentives
Party size
Attitudes toward accountability
Consequences for accountability
 

CHAPTER EIGHT
REASSESSING STRUCTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SLOVAKS AND CZECHS

Defining the differences
Political culture
Economy
Religion
Nation
Consequences for Accountability

CHAPTER NINE
HOW COMPETITIVE DIMENSIONS SHAPE STRUCTURES

How voters choose parties
Structures versus dimensions
Conclusion

CHAPTER TEN
WHERE DIMENSIONS COME FROM

Socio-demographic explanations for issue dimensions
Historical explanations of issue dimensions
Party explanations of issue dimensions
Contingency and the accountability dimension 

CONCLUSION

CHAPTER ELEVEN
RESTORING THE ELECTORAL CONNECTION

Parties and the "electoral connection"
The future of the electoral connection in the Czech Republic and Slovakia

END MATTER

APPENDIX
PARTIES IN SLOVAKIA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC

WORKS CITED

END NOTES